I am considering switching from DirecTV to Dish simply because I love the capabilities of their new Hopper/Joey setup. However, I am a bit concerned about Dish's inferior sports coverage. For those of you who had Center ice on Dish last year, I'm curious whether

a. you were always able to watch the Pens feed as long as the game wasn't on NHL Network, NBCSN, or NBC.b. all games were in HD

Are you under contract with DirecTV? if not, if you call and tell them that you are making the switch to Dish because of the hopper/joey as well as the lesser price, they should hook you up with the Genie comparable for free, cut your bill, and give you some free hbo/show/cinemax etc

canaan wrote:Are you under contract with DirecTV? if not, if you call and tell them that you are making the switch to Dish because of the hopper/joey as well as the lesser price, they should hook you up with the Genie comparable for free, cut your bill, and give you some free hbo/show/cinemax etc

source: i did it a couple months back.

edit: i got 35$ cut off of my bill per month

Well, that is indeed the plan. But then if they say no, I need a backup plan. That is what separates me from Dan Bylsma

canaan wrote:Are you under contract with DirecTV? if not, if you call and tell them that you are making the switch to Dish because of the hopper/joey as well as the lesser price, they should hook you up with the Genie comparable for free, cut your bill, and give you some free hbo/show/cinemax etc

source: i did it a couple months back.

edit: i got 35$ cut off of my bill per month

Well, that is indeed the plan. But then if they say no, I need a backup plan. That is what separates me from Dan Bylsma

canaan wrote:Are you under contract with DirecTV? if not, if you call and tell them that you are making the switch to Dish because of the hopper/joey as well as the lesser price, they should hook you up with the Genie comparable for free, cut your bill, and give you some free hbo/show/cinemax etc

source: i did it a couple months back.

edit: i got 35$ cut off of my bill per month

Well, that is indeed the plan. But then if they say no, I need a backup plan. That is what separates me from Dan Bylsma

Their retention department is one of the best in the biz. they dont try to nickle and dime you. lay out your wants and needs and they should be pretty forthright with the goods. if not, that would be surprising to me.

HD picture quality is much better with direct tv, the thing I notice the most is less motion blur when there is a lot of moving objects on the screen. DIsh colors are very soft.

Dish has more frequent channel disputes and loses channels more often.

Direct TV genie beats the pants off the hopper.

Direct TV's satellite fleet is more streamlined and in better locations in the sky for access. Which means better signal reception and less rain fade. As a matter of fact Dish network has to use a whole other set of satellites just to cover the eastern part of the U.S. (often referred to as the eastern ARC). Some dish installations depending on your package and location may require two different dishes pointed to different locations just to get all the channels. Even with Dish's eastern arc they are still hard to get coverage on the eastern seaboard because those satellite are so close to the horizon. They are easily blocked by trees , buildings and etc.

canaan wrote:[ Their retention department is one of the best in the biz. they dont try to nickle and dime you. lay out your wants and needs and they should be pretty forthright with the goods. if not, that would be surprising to me.

Totally agree. I got GENIE for free and in 4 rooms simply by calling and asking for it. No threats or extortion required. I got NFL Sunday Ticket last year for free because I called them when they were running a new customer special where Sunday Ticket was free for new subscribers and they gave it to me without anything more than me asking "hey, can I get that deal too? Love your service!"

I understand that DIRECTV looks at your account and longevity to make those decisions and I've been with them since the 90's, but it only cost me $49 GENIE install and they brought in all the GENIE mini-receivers and replaced my HD receiver with their own and only raised my bill by $9/month. Love it too and there is no way in hell I would use anyone else. The HD quality is very good and, hey, I'm a real loyal customer I guess. They have treated me well and in my area the service went out maybe twice in the last 5 years due to weather. I'd endorse them

I called DirecTV yesterday and the service was tremendous. Got a free Genie and whole home connection, and $45 a month off my bill for the next year. I asked about free center ice. She couldn't do it, but was able to give me a $50 credit and free Sunday Ticket. I probably could have named my price, but that was good enough for me. Oh, all the installation is free and it will get done tomorrow. Can't ask for more than that.

I'm having DirectTV installed on Sunday. My deal with Fios ran out and they weren't really offering me much to stay on even after I threatened to cancel. I need to keep my internet though, but should I cancel it with Verizon and then call Direct TV to get a bundle price? I wasn't able to get a bundle price when I ordered since I already have Verizon.

Sam's Drunk Dog wrote:I'm having DirectTV installed on Sunday. My deal with Fios ran out and they weren't really offering me much to stay on even after I threatened to cancel. I need to keep my internet though, but should I cancel it with Verizon and then call Direct TV to get a bundle price? I wasn't able to get a bundle price when I ordered since I already have Verizon.

We have Cox out here as the cable side. There is now way to bundle Cox internet with DirecTV on your own. But I went to Sam's Club nad there was a 3rd party vendor that bundled it for me. I was with Cox previously for several years. I got the new customer discounts with DirecTV. And he got me new customer rates with Cox, even though I was already on it. I was paying $120+ per month with Cox for TV, internet and phone. For the same internet, better phone, I'm locked in at $40/mo for 2 years and $51 on DirecTV's ultimate package or something like that plus free Sunday Ticket this year.

Long story short... find one of the third party people than can combine both and go that way.

Sam's Drunk Dog wrote:I'm having DirectTV installed on Sunday. My deal with Fios ran out and they weren't really offering me much to stay on even after I threatened to cancel. I need to keep my internet though, but should I cancel it with Verizon and then call Direct TV to get a bundle price? I wasn't able to get a bundle price when I ordered since I already have Verizon.

We have Cox out here as the cable side. There is now way to bundle Cox internet with DirecTV on your own. But I went to Sam's Club nad there was a 3rd party vendor that bundled it for me. I was with Cox previously for several years. I got the new customer discounts with DirecTV. And he got me new customer rates with Cox, even though I was already on it. I was paying $120+ per month with Cox for TV, internet and phone. For the same internet, better phone, I'm locked in at $40/mo for 2 years and $51 on DirecTV's ultimate package or something like that plus free Sunday Ticket this year.

Long story short... find one of the third party people than can combine both and go that way.

Sam's Drunk Dog wrote:I'm having DirectTV installed on Sunday. My deal with Fios ran out and they weren't really offering me much to stay on even after I threatened to cancel. I need to keep my internet though, but should I cancel it with Verizon and then call Direct TV to get a bundle price? I wasn't able to get a bundle price when I ordered since I already have Verizon.

We have Cox out here as the cable side. There is now way to bundle Cox internet with DirecTV on your own. But I went to Sam's Club nad there was a 3rd party vendor that bundled it for me. I was with Cox previously for several years. I got the new customer discounts with DirecTV. And he got me new customer rates with Cox, even though I was already on it. I was paying $120+ per month with Cox for TV, internet and phone. For the same internet, better phone, I'm locked in at $40/mo for 2 years and $51 on DirecTV's ultimate package or something like that plus free Sunday Ticket this year.

Long story short... find one of the third party people than can combine both and go that way.

Hey that was my old gig lol

Let's just say that I'm happy I don't have to deal with him or his company ongoing and I get DirecTV and Cox customer service. Took him an extra month to get the billing right. I think he screwed up, but it was basically a bank error in my favor. I shouldn't have gotten the deal I did, but he had to honor it, and I made him work to fix it.

How long do you need to be a DirecTV customer before you can start pulling some weight and demanding stuff?

Sam's Drunk Dog wrote:I'm having DirectTV installed on Sunday. My deal with Fios ran out and they weren't really offering me much to stay on even after I threatened to cancel. I need to keep my internet though, but should I cancel it with Verizon and then call Direct TV to get a bundle price? I wasn't able to get a bundle price when I ordered since I already have Verizon.

We have Cox out here as the cable side. There is now way to bundle Cox internet with DirecTV on your own. But I went to Sam's Club nad there was a 3rd party vendor that bundled it for me. I was with Cox previously for several years. I got the new customer discounts with DirecTV. And he got me new customer rates with Cox, even though I was already on it. I was paying $120+ per month with Cox for TV, internet and phone. For the same internet, better phone, I'm locked in at $40/mo for 2 years and $51 on DirecTV's ultimate package or something like that plus free Sunday Ticket this year.

Long story short... find one of the third party people than can combine both and go that way.

Hey that was my old gig lol

Let's just say that I'm happy I don't have to deal with him or his company ongoing and I get DirecTV and Cox customer service. Took him an extra month to get the billing right. I think he screwed up, but it was basically a bank error in my favor. I shouldn't have gotten the deal I did, but he had to honor it, and I made him work to fix it.

How long do you need to be a DirecTV customer before you can start pulling some weight and demanding stuff?

Digitalgypsy66 wrote:It's just like almost anything else: retaining current customers/students/employees is cheaper than recruiting/training/installing hardware new ones.

When we canceled DirectTV back in 2010, they said "OK, no problem. Send the box back. Have a nice day," because we'd only been customers for a couple of years.

I have been eyeing Verizon plus DirectTV bundles for years but did not like the discrepancy of Verizon being 1 year commitment vs DTV being 2 year, and "The Boss" didn't want a dish on the house. Finally got fed up and called DTV today- Comcast has jacked my triple play up to $212. With Genie, 2 Genie Minis and Sunday Ticket, plus 3 months of HBO/Showtime/Cinemax my Verizon/DTV bundle is $102 first year and $140 second year.

Called Comcast and they basically said "meh, we'll give you the same thing you have now, 3 months HBO/Showtime/Cinemax, faster internet than you have now, and knock $25 off. As far as the rate for Direct TV, make sure you read the fine print (duh!)" Doesn't seem like they get it. Been a customer for 12 years, apparently that's not enough to get a deal.

Only concern I have is the slower internet. Ask me later if my 13 year old who already complains about his games being slow is worth the $110 a month when we go to DSL.

Well, that and that these companies seem to always be screwing people around, but I guess they won't do it any more than Comcast already does.

Digitalgypsy66 wrote:It's just like almost anything else: retaining current customers/students/employees is cheaper than recruiting/training/installing hardware new ones.

When we canceled DirectTV back in 2010, they said "OK, no problem. Send the box back. Have a nice day," because we'd only been customers for a couple of years.

I have been eyeing Verizon plus DirectTV bundles for years but did not like the discrepancy of Verizon being 1 year commitment vs DTV being 2 year, and "The Boss" didn't want a dish on the house. Finally got fed up and called DTV today- Comcast has jacked my triple play up to $212. With Genie, 2 Genie Minis and Sunday Ticket, plus 3 months of HBO/Showtime/Cinemax my Verizon/DTV bundle is $102 first year and $140 second year.

Called Comcast and they basically said "meh, we'll give you the same thing you have now, 3 months HBO/Showtime/Cinemax, faster internet than you have now, and knock $25 off. As far as the rate for Direct TV, make sure you read the fine print (duh!)" Doesn't seem like they get it. Been a customer for 12 years, apparently that's not enough to get a deal.

Only concern I have is the slower internet. Ask me later if my 13 year old who already complains about his games being slow is worth the $110 a month when we go to DSL.

Well, that and that these companies seem to always be screwing people around, but I guess they won't do it any more than Comcast already does.

you should be able to keep comcast for internet and not use them for TV. There might be like a $10 extra charge if you don't use them for TV.

Digitalgypsy66 wrote:It's just like almost anything else: retaining current customers/students/employees is cheaper than recruiting/training/installing hardware new ones.

When we canceled DirectTV back in 2010, they said "OK, no problem. Send the box back. Have a nice day," because we'd only been customers for a couple of years.

I have been eyeing Verizon plus DirectTV bundles for years but did not like the discrepancy of Verizon being 1 year commitment vs DTV being 2 year, and "The Boss" didn't want a dish on the house. Finally got fed up and called DTV today- Comcast has jacked my triple play up to $212. With Genie, 2 Genie Minis and Sunday Ticket, plus 3 months of HBO/Showtime/Cinemax my Verizon/DTV bundle is $102 first year and $140 second year.

Called Comcast and they basically said "meh, we'll give you the same thing you have now, 3 months HBO/Showtime/Cinemax, faster internet than you have now, and knock $25 off. As far as the rate for Direct TV, make sure you read the fine print (duh!)" Doesn't seem like they get it. Been a customer for 12 years, apparently that's not enough to get a deal.

Only concern I have is the slower internet. Ask me later if my 13 year old who already complains about his games being slow is worth the $110 a month when we go to DSL.

Well, that and that these companies seem to always be screwing people around, but I guess they won't do it any more than Comcast already does.

you should be able to keep comcast for internet and not use them for TV. There might be like a $10 extra charge if you don't use them for TV.

Verizon will bundle with DirecTV. But its a matter of preference for some people.

Moving here on Monday - need to decide whether to start a new comcast package, or whether to go with comcast internet (only choice here) and go with Direct TV.

Guy I work with had no problems with Direct TV, on the other hand my parents as well as numerous other people throughout our community hated it. My parents had it a few years ago though, so maybe things are better. The new neighbor has a dish behind their house, so I'm going to check with them to see how things are.

Price wise, DirectTV is better simply because of the genie setup - plus the fact that the genie's are wireless - just gives more flexibility in setup.

So - are the outages that bad? I mean is it annoying as well watching a penguin game during a light snow?

I live in Atlanta so admittedly I don't know much about Directv when it snows. a few years ago we had a significant (for us, 4 or 5 inches) snowstorm and we never lost our signal once. the only time we do lose signal is when a really heavy thunderstorm is moving through. it's usually only for about 30 seconds or so and oftentimes the SD channel is still available. someone pointed out to me once that during a severe t-storm my tv should be unplugged anyway. I haven't had cable in over 13 years but back then my cable would go out regularly for no reason at all.not to mention that when I watch NHL games at the houses of my friends that have Comcast the HD just doesn't look as sharp as it does on my tv.

What do you guys specifically say when you call and threaten to leave? I've called twice recently trying to lower by bill and they best they could do is take $10 of both Sunday Ticket and Center Ice. I wanted to sign up for another 2 year contract and get free Sunday Ticket as well as half off my Choice Extra package.